Natfruitschaal van blauw beschilderde faience, met gaatjes in een bloemvorm c. 1739 - 1785

This is a fruit bowl made of blue-painted faience, produced by De Porceleyne Byl. The ceramic material is a porous earthenware coated with tin glaze. Look closely, and you can see it’s been pierced with holes arranged in a floral pattern, adding a decorative touch. The blue painting, rendered by hand with a practiced touch, depicts a landscape scene. The bowl is elevated by three small feet, each adorned with blue floral motifs. Creating such a bowl would have involved several stages, starting with shaping the clay, applying the glaze, and firing it in a kiln. The pierced decoration and hand-painted scenes demanded considerable skill. Bowls like this were produced in large numbers in the Netherlands, meeting a booming demand for Delftware. But though the form is fairly simple, the handwork involved would have required trained artisans, setting this object a cut above the most basic utilitarian ceramics. Ultimately, understanding the labor and craft involved in its production helps us appreciate the cultural and economic context of this charming object.